With a stroke of his pen, Governor Brown signed SB 493 into law on Tuesday, October 1, 2013, thus capping months of efforts to pass the legislation.

“Pharmacists are a critical component of the healthcare team,” said Senator Hernandez, author of the legislation. “This law will ensure all patients, regardless of where they live, have increased access to quality healthcare services. I want to thank all of the pharmacists who reached out to their state legislators and helped make this effort a success.”

“The enactment of SB 493 is a major accomplishment that will allow California pharmacists to help all Californians receive better, safer medical care,” said Steve Gray, PharmD, JD and President of CSHP. “Pharmacists will also be able to help relieve the stress during the shortage of primary care physicians as they provide access to high quality care for a growing number of patients. We owe a special thanks to Senator Ed Hernandez and the coalition of pharmacists and others that enabled this success.”

“The California health-system pharmacists are honored to have played a role in the success of SB 493, the landmark legislation introduced by Senator Ed Hernandez, that recognizes their skills as doctors of pharmacy, valuable medical providers, and medication experts,” says CSHP Executive Vice President and CEO Dawn Benton. “At a time when nearly seventy percent of Americans are managing their health through daily prescriptions, it only makes good sense to incorporate these skilled medication experts in our healthcare system, especially as we face a shortage of providers under the federal Affordable Care Act. If we didn’t have the full use of pharmacists’ services, it would be tantamount to inviting guests to come to the table only to find there wasn’t enough food or place settings for everyone. We need the medication expertise of pharmacists.”

CSHP applauds the leadership and commitment of Senator Ed Hernandez, OD in recognizing the need to utilize all healthcare providers in ensuring access to quality healthcare. CSHP also thanks the countless members who sent in letters, made calls and met personally with their local representatives. Finally, CSHP thanks the members of the Joint Provider Status Task Force whose work in carefully crafting the language of SB 493 proved pivotal in ensuring the bill’s passage.

CSHP will be working with several other stakeholders over the next several months such as the Board of Pharmacy, Medical Board and Department of Health Care Services to begin implementing the bill. CSHP will also begin rolling out resources to help answer your questions. Finally, be sure to register for Seminar – the closing keynote will be focused on what this exciting new future looks like. You won’t want to miss it!